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For thousands of years, humans have endeavored to capture the elusive power of music. Long before the era of recording, musicians developed intricate methods to preserve their songs. Some melodies served sacred rituals, while others offered practical guidance—maps for navigating lands or preserving wisdom. A few served as reminders of life’s fleeting nature and its purpose to be savored.
Ancient music offers us a unique opportunity to journey through time via sound. It unveils profound secrets about the art of music, our world, and our own existence.
10. Hurrian Hymn No. 6
In 1955, archaeologists discovered a clay tablet within the ruins of the ancient palace of Ugarit in Syria. This tablet contained a fragment of music that is 3,400 years old—making it significantly older than the earliest known compositions previously discovered.
The tablet features a cuneiform inscription in Hurrian, an ancient language of Mesopotamia. It also outlines a method for playing the melody. The hymn is dedicated to Nikkal, the goddess of orchards, and was meant to be performed with a nine-string lyre.
The composer of this work remains unknown, as the piece is unsigned. The lyrics are written in a complex and obscure form of Hurrian, a language that remains difficult for linguists to fully decode. The hymn employs a diatonic scale (do-re-mi).
9. Aboriginal Songlines
The culture of Australian Aboriginals spans over 50,000 years, making it the oldest continuous culture on Earth. A cornerstone of this ancient tradition is the songlines, also known as Dreamings. These musical myths of creation act as both maps for traversing the vast and harsh Australian terrain and as moral frameworks that define the connections between people, animals, and the land.
Songlines map out thousands of kilometers and serve to link different groups with distinct languages. As these songs pass through new regions, they adapt, blending in elements from local languages and tribal histories. Some songlines also carry remarkably precise star maps, used for nocturnal navigation and predicting when and where vital resources would appear.
8. The Harper’s Song of Inherkhawy
Close to the Royal Tombs of Thebes, archaeologists uncovered a collection of love poems and musical pieces, among which is The Harper’s Song of Inherkhawy. This composition, dating back to 1160 BC, offers insight into the emotional depth of Ancient Egypt. It urges the listener to embrace the present moment and approach the concept of the afterlife with a degree of skepticism.
The instruments are clearly depicted, but accurately recreating the melody poses a challenge. The most widely accepted theory suggests that Ancient Egyptians did not develop a system of musical notation until the conquest of Alexander the Great in 332 BC.
However, some scholars disagree. Musicologist Hans Hickman proposed that the figures in the scene use hand gestures to convey pitch and rhythm. This method, known as cheironomy, is still in use today in the liturgical music of the Egyptian Coptic Church.
7. Beth Gazo
The Beth Gazo, also known as the Treasury of Chants, was compiled approximately 1,800 years ago. It is the oldest surviving Christian music. Written in Syriac—the ancient dialect of Aramaic spoken by Jesus—reproducing the text and melody allows a modern Syriac Orthodox priest to revive the early days of the Christian church.
The Beth Gazo originally contained thousands of songs, but only around 700 remain, along with just four of the eight modes or scales. Will the missing parts of the Beth Gazo survive through the ongoing Syrian conflict?
6. Chant to St. Boniface
A remarkable discovery at the British Library revealed the earliest known polyphonic work—music composed for multiple voices. This chant, dedicated to Saint Boniface, the patron saint of Germany, marks the beginning of a musical tradition that would dominate the Western world for the next millennium. The chant was added at the end of a biography of Bishop Maternianus of Reims, though its author remains unknown. Experts believe it was composed in northwest Germany around the year 900.
The piece is an organum with two vocal parts: one for the lead singer and another for the accompanist providing harmony. This work is a full century older than the previously known earliest polyphonic piece, “The Winchester Troper.”
5. The Book of Psalms
While the Old Testament’s Book of Psalms is often viewed as a collection of poems, they were originally intended to be sung. The word “Psalm” comes from the Greek psalmos, referring to a song played with a stringed instrument. The text also contains notes for musicians, including indications of which octave to sing and references to the ancient eastern musical modes to be used.
The oldest version of the Book of Psalms, found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, includes melody notations known as te’amim or cantillation marks. Unfortunately, the ability to interpret these ancient symbols has been lost. No modern versions of the Psalms preserve the original music, and many believe the musical code is gone for good.
4. Delphi Apollo Hymns
In 1893, French archaeologists unearthed two hymns at Delphi, the spiritual heart of ancient Greece. These hymns, dedicated to Apollo, the god of music, light, and prophecy, have been dated to 128 BC.
Musically, the hymns are simple in structure. The first includes vocal music, while the second features instrumental music. What sets the Delphic Hymns apart is that they are the earliest known pieces of music with an identifiable composer. The first hymn was composed by Athenios, son of Athenios, and the second by Limenios, son of Thoinos. Limenios was a skilled performer on the kithara, Apollo’s four-stringed harp.
The works of Homer, Sophocles, and Euripides were originally performed with music, though that music has been lost to history. The Delphic Hymns offer a glimpse into the rich musical heritage of Ancient Greece, hinting at more treasures yet to be discovered.
3. Song of Seikilos
In 1883, near Aydin, Turkey, archaeologists uncovered a marble stele engraved with a song. Its exact date of origin is uncertain, though most experts place it in the first century AD. While there are older musical fragments, the Song of Seikilos is the earliest surviving complete tune.
The inscription is straightforward, leaving no ambiguity about the purpose of the monument: “I am a tombstone, an image. Seikilos placed me here as an eternal marker of unending remembrance.” The song’s brevity was key to its preservation, as it could be easily etched onto a single monument. Its lyrics are simple and deeply human, resonating across time and culture.
While you live, shine Have no grief at all Life exists only for a short while And time demands its toll
What stands out to modern listeners is how Middle Eastern the song feels. The intervals are familiar to contemporary ears. However, ancient Greek tunings and instruments differ from those of today. This music suggests that the Eastern and Western worlds may be more connected than we realize.
2. Sama-Veda
The Sama Veda forms the musical aspect of the Hindu Vedas and is regarded as the world’s oldest music collection. Composed nearly 4,000 years ago, these chants were passed down with incredible precision from teacher to student until they were transcribed between 1200 and 1000 BC. They are written in the ancient Arsha language, a precursor to Sanskrit.
The Sama-Veda encompasses a complete worldview, including elements of scientific thought. It is believed that these hymns were composed over pre-existing melodies, pointing to even older forms of music. The ragas, the scales that form the foundation of Hindustani music, can be traced back to the Sama-Veda.
Originally, the Sama-Veda consisted of 13 shakhas, or branches. Today, only four remain. Modern scientists are beginning to explore the scientific insights embedded in the Samaveda.
1. Kerala Mantras
In Kerala, located on the Malabar Coast in southwestern India, an ancient tradition of oral transmission exists, so old it may predate humanity itself. Here, Brahman priest families have passed down traditional mantras, or meditative chants, from father to son with meticulous accuracy, ensuring every syllable is preserved. This process has been ongoing for millennia.
These mantras are in an unknown language. Some believe they hold traces of a forgotten Bronze Age language, while others consider them “beyond language,” with sound patterns that transcend meaning, where form takes precedence over content. The structure of many mantras resembles bird songs—brief fragments, endlessly repeated, or stripped down to their essence. The significance of these mantras lies in their ritual use, aiming to repeat the same words with precision across generations.
